Tony Stark (Earth-616)
Anthony Edward Stark Jr., also known by his name as Tony Stark, is a fictional character, a comic book superhero appearing in publications from Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, Iron Man first appeared in Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963). Tony Stark, after suffering a severe heart injury and being kidnapped, was forced to build a devastating weapon for his kidnappers. He instead created a suit of power armor to save his life and help protect the world as Iron Man. Overview Anthony Stark is a wealthy Stark Industries Industrialist and genius inventor who created military weapons and whose metal suit is laden with technological devices that enable him to fight crime. Throughout most of his career, Iron Man has been a member of the superhero team The Avengers and has been featured in several incarnations of his own various comic book series. Character Creation Iron Man's premiere was a collaboration among editor and story-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, story-artist Don Heck, and Jack Kirby. In 1963, Lee had been toying with the idea of a businessman superhero. He set out to make the new character a rich, glamorous ladies' man, but one with a secret that would plague and torment him as well. Lee based this playboy's personality on Howard Hughes, explaining, "Howard Hughes was one of the most colorful men of our time. He was an inventor, an adventurer, a multi-billionaire, a ladies' man and finally a nutcase". While Lee intended to write the story himself, he eventually handed the premier issue over to Lieber, who fleshed out the story. The art, meanwhile, was split between Kirby and Heck. "He designed the costume," Heck said of Kirby, "because he was doing the cover. The covers were always done first. But I created the look of the characters, like Tony Stark and his secretary Pepper Potts". Iron Man first appeared in 13- to 18-page stories in Tales of Suspense, which featured anthology science fiction and supernatural stories. The character's original costume was a bulky grey armor, which later turned golden in his second story (issue #40, April 1963), and then redesigned again as a sleeker red-and-golden armor starting in issue #48 (Dec. 1963), drawn by Steve Ditko. In his premiere, Iron Man was an anti-communist hero, defeating various Vietnamese agents; Lee later regretted this early focus. Throughout the character’s comic book series, technological advancement and national defense were constant themes for Iron Man, but later issues developed Stark into a more complex and vulnerable character as they depicted his battle with alcoholism and other personal difficulties. From issue #59 (Nov. 1964) to its final issue #99 (March 1968), the anthological science-fiction backup stories in Tales of Suspense were replaced by a feature starring the superhero Captain America. After issue #99 (March 1968), the book's title was changed to Captain America]. Iron Man stories moved to the title ''Iron Man and Sub-Mariner in April 1968, before the "Golden Avenger" made his solo debut with The Invincible Iron Man #1 (May 1968).'' Writers have updated the war in which Stark is injured. In the original 1963 story, it was Vietnam. Later, in the 1990s, it was updated to be the first Gulf War, and then updated again to be Afghanistan. However, his time with the Asian scientist Yin Sen is consistent through nearly all incarnations of the Iron Man origin, depicting Stark and Yin Sen building the original armor together. One exception is the direct-to-DVD animated feature film The Invincible Iron Man, in which the first armor Stark uses is not the first Iron Man suit. Powers & Abilities Armor Iron Man possesses powered armor that gives him superhuman strength and durability, flight, and an array of weapons. The armor is invented and, with occasional short-term exceptions, worn by Stark. Other people who have assumed the Iron Man identity include long time partner and best friend James Rhodes, close associates Harold "Happy" Hogan, Eddie March, and (briefly) Michael O'Brien. In addition to the general-purpose model he wears, Stark has developed several specialized suits for space travel, deep-sea diving, stealth and other situations. Stark has modified suits such as Hulkbuster Armor, composed of add-ons to his so-called modular armor, designed to enhance its strength and durability to allow it to take on The Hulk. A later model designed for use against Thor is modeled on the Destroyer and uses a mystical power source. Stark also develops an electronics pack during the Armor Wars that, when attached to armors that use Stark technology, will burn out those components and render the suit useless. This pack is ineffective on later models, however. Weapons The weapons systems of the suit has evolved over the years, but Iron Man's standard offensive weapons have always been the repulsor rays that are fired from the palms of his gauntlets. Other weapons built into various incarnations of the armor include the uni-beam projector in its chest; pulse bolts that pick up kinetic energy, but not solar energy, along the way, so that they hit harder the farther they have to travel; an electromagnetic pulse generator and an energy shield. Other capabilities include generation of ultra-freon, creating and manipulating magnetic fields, sonic blasts and a holographic generator to create decoys. In the 2008 movie, the suit has what appears to be a single fire arm-launched missile and a multi-targeting ballistic weapon that pops up from the shoulder blades. It is also equipped with flares, as heat-seaking missile counter measures; although they are used as an offensive attack in the final fight with the Iron Monger. In the 2010 movie, Stark's new model armor, the Mark VI, has a new beam weapon built into the gauntlets of his suit, which he promptly uses to dispose of many drones, while spinning 360 degrees. He is however only allowed to "use them once." as the crystals burn out after one use. He also has a laser attached to his gauntlets. Powers For a time, due to an artificial nervous system installed after he suffered extensive damage to his nervous system, Stark had superhumanly acute sensory perceptions as well as extraordinary awareness of the physical processes within his own body. This is no longer a part of the character's powers. After being critically injured during a battle from numerous exit points around his limbs as a gold-colored neural interface under-sheath. While in this form, Stark has technopathic control of the armor and can suit up at any time, calling the larger components to him. Furthermore, the Extremis process has increased his body's recuperative and healing abilities. He is also able to connect remotely to external communications systems such as satellites, cellular phones, and computers throughout the world. Because the armor's operating system is now directly connected to Stark's nervous system, its response time has been significantly improved. Skills Tony Stark is an inventive genius and one of Earth's greatest minds.He has great expertise in the fields of mathematics,physics and chemistry. Tony has advanced degrees in electrical and mechanical engineering,furthering his knowledge to the fields of AI and quantum mechanics. He has great business acumen, regaining control of his companies after losing them through corporate takeovers, building the holdings of his companies, and increasing his personal wealth. When Stark was unable to use his armor for a period of time,he enlisted Captain America for training in martial arts and hand-to-hand combat and has become physically fierce in his own right. History Origin Anthony Stark was born on Long Island, the son of Howard Stark, a wealthy industrialist and head of Stark Industries, and Maria Stark. Tony is a boy genius, entering Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the age of 15 to study electrical engineering, and graduating at the top of his class. After his parents' accidental death in a car crash, he inherits his father's company. Tales of Suspense While observing the effects of his experimental technologies on the american war effort, Stark is injured by a booby trap and captured by the enemy, who then orders him to design weapons for them. However, Stark's injuries are dire and shrapnel in his chest threatens to pierce his heart. His fellow prisoner, Ho Yinsen, a physicist whose work Stark had greatly admired during college, constructs a magnetic chest plate to keep the shrapnel from reaching Stark's heart, keeping him alive. Stark uses the workshop to design and construct in secret a suit of powered armor. Stark uses the armor to escape, although Yinsen dies during the attempt. Stark takes revenge on his kidnappers, then heads back to rejoin the American forces. Along the way he meets a wounded american Marine Corps helicopter pilot, James "Rhodey" Rhodes. Civil War The Invincible Iron Man Avengers vs. X-Men Aftermath The Secret Origin of Tony Stark Tony leaves Earth and joins The Guardians of the Galaxy. Iron Metropolitan Notes * Iron Man is ranked 12th, as one of the Top 100 Comic Super-Heroes on IGN's list. Trivia * There are no current trivia available on this topic, as of the moment. 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